The Minister for Tourism, Sports and Recreation today announced he was giving an additional €3 million in funding to the tourism industry for a new marketing drive.
The money is designed to help the embattled sector in the face of ever-decreasing visitor numbers.
Mr John O'Donoghue said he recognised some sectors were "facing a real challenge" this year. But, he said, he wanted to send out a message that the Irish tourism industry was still alive.
"It's in there and it's fighting. It's important for the industry not to be trapped in a negative psychology at this crucial time," he said.
"Now that we’ve made the commitment, I don't want to waste any time in getting the show on the road. To that end, I have asked that arrangements be put in place to ensure that this new marketing round can begin in the British market this weekend coming."
The funds will be shared between Tourism Ireland Ltd and Bord Fáilte, with the emphasis being on Irish tourism delivering value for money.
Tourism employs around 150,000 people in Ireland and has generated over €4 billion in foreign earnings and €1 billion in domestic tourism revenue last year.
Last December, tourism chiefs said bookings from the US had dropped by up to 60 per cent from the same period in 2000 as the impact of the September 11th attacks took effect.
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